Improvement in soda-fountains



JOHN" MATTHEWS.

Improvement in Sodafountajns.

No. 125,591, Patented April9,1872.

f at y U a g PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MATTHEWS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SODA-FOUNTAINS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 125,591, dated April 9, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN MATTHEWS, of

the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Dispensing and Recording Apparatus for Soda-Water and other Beverages; and I do hereby, declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, and in which Figure 1" represents a front view of an apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, and Fig. 2 a centrally-vertical transverse section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures of the drawing.

My invention is more particularly designed for dispensing soda-water on draught, with sirups to sweeten and flavor it and as applied to such purpose it consists in an apparatus in which a charge of any required sirup suitable for a single glass or draught is injected into the soda-water cooler or reservoir at or near its base, and, on opening the tap to furnish a glass or draught, is washed out by the sodawater drawn from the reservoir to form said draught, thus dispensing the soda-water sweetened or flavored as required. The invention furthermore includes, in connection with the devices by which the sirup or sirups is or are injected into the soda-water cooler or reservoir, a counter or counters for registering the number of draughts made upon the apparatus and draughts of the sirups used, either separate1yorcol1etively,the wholeconstitutingadispensing and recording apparatus, which, while affording every facility as regards varying the flavor of the compound, acts as a check against fraud and forms a ready reckoner to the vender of the business doing or done.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, A represents the soda-water cooler or reservoir of a draught apparatus, and from which the beverageis drawn asrequiredby opening a tap, I), connected with the outer leg of a bent or siphon pipe, 0, the inner leg of which dips down to near the bottom of the reservoir or vessel A.

The soda-water is supplied to said vessel by a pipe, 0, in the usual or any suitable manner. D D are sirup-cans, of which there may be any desired number, according to the variety of sirups or flavoring-mixtures required. These cans have their lids secured by locks and are supplied with their sirups or flavoring-mix tures from tanks on the outside of the apparatus by pipes d d, provided with key-taps e 6, so that the cans when in use are sealed vessels, and cannot be tampered with to interfere with the correctness of the registering devices that, by recording the number of draughts made on the sirup cans, indicate the number of draughts made upon the apparatus, as hereinafter described. E E are pumps constituting sirup-chargers and injectors to the vessel A, at or near its bottom, with which they are connected by pipes f f, said pumps or chargers serving, as they are operated, to pass or inject a charge of sirup suflicient for a glass or draught from either can D to the vessel A. These sirup-chargers E E may be of any suitable construction, but a force-pump will answer every purpose and the mechanism for operating them consists of simple levers g g and pumprods or pitmen h h. Each charge of sirup injected within the vessel A remains, by its superior density as compared with the water in said vessel, at the bottom of the latter till washed out by the soda-water through the pipe 0 on opening the tap b, thus dispensing the sirup and soda-water out of one and the same nozzle. Each time a lever, g, is operated to expel a charge of sirup from a can, D, into the vessel A, the rod h, set in motion thereby, or whatever the mechanism may be for operating the sirup-charger, actuates-as, for in stance, by pawls or suitable connections 6 can index or indices of a counter, F, which may be similar to other counters as used for various purposes, and may be made up of one or more dials arranged either to register in gross the number of charges drawn from the several sirup-cans or from each can separately, and as each draught of soda-water is accompanied or preceded by acharge of sirup such counter or registering devices will necessarily record the number of draughts made on the fountain or dispensing apparatus.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of one or more siruppumps or chargers, E, and cans or reservoirs D, with the soda-Water cooler or reservoir A and draught-pipe G, substantially as specified. 

